A Year In Headers

2010 has been full of many suprises. There have been many blessings and many challenges. Back in January when I decided to give my blog a new banner every month, I figured it would be easy to keep up with this idea. I didn't imagine that I'd get as busy as I have been this fall. Even still, I did manage to keep my commitment. I think in 2011 I'm going to stick with seasonal banners, that way I get to enjoy a new "look" on a regular basis, but I won't feel the pressure to not fall behind each month, afterall, our seasonal changes here in the Pacific Northwest typically pretty "soft" and rarely coincide with the equinox and solstice dates on the calendar. So I thought that the perfect way to end the year would be to display my twelve banners...

Have a very blessed and peaceful New Year!

Christmas Closet Organization!

Several weeks ago when I was straightening up our master bedroom, I complained to the husband that I didn't have a good way to organize my shoes. For the last few years I've been keeping my shoes on the floor on my end of our walk in closet. This means that typically my shoes have been in a giant heap without order except for maybe a few weeks a year after I got a cleaning bug and straightened them into rows. The pile below is what the shoes looked like after I'd moved them out of my closet recently, but the shoe pile in my closet before I'd moved them was a pretty similar sight. Trying to find the right pair of shoes in the morning when I'm in a hurry to get ready hasn't been easy. I've developed the bad habit of not putting shoes away in the closet, leaving them on the bedroom floor made them easier to find in the morning. Well, the husband heard me and decided to fix my problem...he is a skilled cabinet maker and has a full cabinet shop - I'm not sure I ever got around to mentioning it, but we built a shop on our property this year where he was able to relocate all of his equipment and machinery. He made me the shoe shelf...I'm pretty pleased with it. I can't imagine what we would have paid to have someone make this custom shelf for us...and I love that it matches the other closet units he's made in the past.

Getting the new shoe organizer of course made me go through my shoes with a pretty critical eye - when I was done I had a nice little donate pile. As you can see below, if I want to keep my shoes off the floor - and I do - I don't really have the space for any more shoes. I guess I could go with the option of storing off-season shoes that I know I won't wear for several months...and maybe I will eventually. I also think I'll make a point of trying to get rid of a worn out pair of shoes when I bring home a new pair. I like having my shoes up off the ground because I can better see how worn they are. Maybe because the light to the floor of my closet is blocked by hanging clothes, I was kind of suprised at the kind of shape some of my shoes were in. I just hadn't noticed.

It can't be good for shoes to be kept in a big heap either, I'm sure some of the "wear" that I was noticing could have probably been prevented if my shoes had been stored properly.

To have a clear floor in my closet is wonderful, it makes using the closet and putting things away so much more pleasant...being as busy as I am, this really was the perfect gift. I appreciate anything that makes life feel more organized and manageable in the midst of my very busy schedule. The husband "gave" me this gift a few days before Christmas, he was very excited to get my reaction. Once the shelf was in, it inspired quite a bit of further cleaning and organizing. I appreciate anything that makes life feel more organized and manageable in the midst of my very busy schedule.

Speaking of busy schedules, I have loved having the last week off, I needed the chance to rest and catch up. We had a wonderful Christmas day...fun times playing new board games together, good food, lots of laughter. It's also wonderful that I still have a week left before returning to work. This time of rest will make pushing myself easier. I can't imagine life always being this busy, as a matter of fact, I have found myself saying just that in conversations with friends recently. Even though I love what I'm doing, I know I couldn't continue at this pace for forever. But for now, I am grateful to have a job that is both fulfilling and well paying.

I'm sure I'll be around here sometime in the next few days, I hope the rest of 2010 is as restful for you as the past week has been for me!

A Visit From Flat Stanley

Have you ever met Flat Stanley? He is a part of a wonderful children's story. Stanley was a normal boy until a bulletin board fell on him and made him flat. Rather than being sad about his new look, Stanley has taken advantage of it and has traveled (he fits very easily into envelopes, so traveling is inexpensive). Recently he was sent by a little boy named Colby, the son of some dear friends of mine, to visit us. He was lucky enough to arrive as we were heading down to spend a day in Seattle. After a quick stop to get Stanley some appropriate clothing, he came with us to see the Seattle Space Center and Pike's Place Market. Below are some pictures from his visit.

This is Stanley in front of the Seattle Space Needle.Here is Stanley in front of a huge fountain. During the warmer parts of the year,

children play in the fountain.

As a matter of fact, Flat Stanley's friend Colby has been to this very fountain and

played in it when he has visited Washington. Stanley was excited to arrive at Pike's Place Market, he'd heard that it was a neat place to visit, very busy with locals and tourists like himself.

This is Stanley in front of the original Starbuck's coffee shop.

He was amazed to find out that the huge corporation started in such a simple space.

Seeing the variety of seafood made Stanley hungry...

There was more than just fish, lots of yummy looking fruits and vegetables also.

Some of the produce was like none that Stanley had ever seen before. He was impressed.

Stanley was most excited when he arrived at the fish stall where the employees, called "fishmongers", throw the fish back and forth. In the picture below, there is a fishmonger standing behind Flat Stanley.

Flat Stanley would like to be a fishmonger himself one day.

Flat Stanley had such a fun day, he decided that he liked the Pacific Northwest.

A couple of weeks later, Flat Stanley drove with his host family to Mt. Hood in Oregon. The plan was for him to learn to snowboard, but unfortunately the temperature on the mountain wasn't very cold and so rather than snow falling, it was rainy that day. Both Stanley and his hosts felt that it was wise for Stanley to avoid getting wet. It was a bit disappointing, but Stanley did enjoy seeing snow for the first time.

Right before Christmas, Flat Stanley climbed back into his traveling envelope and made his way back down to California and to his friend Colby.

Visit These Places

Places to visit in Portland:





flutter......and lark press





In Seattle:





The Pink Door (restaurant)

Sooner Than I Thought - Thank You Snow Day!

I'm back much sooner than I would have anticipated...thanks to the snow storm that blew through and froze the Pacific Northwest over yesterday. My drive home from work was pretty dicey - thankfully the husband met me at work so I could follow him home. There are some hills on my route home that when they are covered in ice can be scary. Although I'd anticipated a 2-hour late start today because it was announced yesterday, I was a little suprised when it turned into a full snow day. So even though I've got a bit of anxiety about missing a day and having to re-plan, but on the other hand, I needed the chance to get caught up on housework and get ready to have my mom and brother visit for Thanksgiving. The husband and the pets were also a big part of my day, I loved having the extra bit of unexpected quality time with them....Bambino had a blast playing with us and chasing his frisbee in the snow. This was the first experience with snow for the Buff Orpington hens that are new to the flock this year - they seemed pretty disturbed by the cold white stuff that was on the ground and every surface. I gave them lots of extra scratch corn - I've heard that it raises their body temperatures. It was wonderful to get a bit of time outside...even though it was cold, the sky was perfectly blue and sunny. I took a ton of pictures, I love how the snow makes everything look fresh and new...I tend to go nuts with pictures on snow days! So here's a whole lot of pictures with not a lot of post...Enjoy!

Thankful...

It's been over a month *over a month!* since I last came by here. To be honest, I haven't slowed down much in the space of that month. My life became really busy when I took on this new teaching job. The thing is, if I didn't love what I'm doing as much as I do, I don't think I'd be able to keep this up much longer. I am being challenged, stretched, pushed...I am feeling overwhelmed, excited, exhausted, refreshed, and far too many other emotions to explain here and now. I need to remember how to say "no" because lately all of my "yes" answers are adding up to very full days. But honestly, I'll take busy and happy, over the other option any day!Being in such a good place professionally, I have hope and many things I'm dreaming about for the next five, ten years and beyond. I'm doing what I've been made to do. It is clear that my fear-filled decision to leave the field of engineering nearly 8 years ago now was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I can also honestly say that losing the teaching job that I had for the first two years I spent in Washington was a blessing that allowed me to find my way to where I am now. It's ironic to think that the process to finding joy in my career required going through so much pain and uncertainty. I am thankful for the job I have, not only is it providing for our financial needs, it is also giving me the joy that comes from doing something that is worthwhile and valuable.As I think about Thanksgiving coming up so soon, my thoughts are filled with thankfulness for my family, we are closer than ever, I can hardly believe sometimes how much my relationship with my stepson has smoothed out as we've grown closer. I may be the only "parent" in history to be glad to see a child enter adolescence and the teenage years. I like being able to relate to him on a new level. I'm also grateful for the husband, the dear man who is my best friend, who has been patient with me as I've been so busy in the past few months. He knows that I'm finding my way with my career and he is happy to see me happy. He is taking steps to pursue some long-time dreams of his own...I'm proud of him for that.

That's all for now...I'm sure I'll check back in sometime in the next several weeks, probably just in time for Christmas!

Dropping In...

I'm not even going to attempt at an apology...because honestly, life has been too incredibly full of tasks and obligations and requirements and all other assorted and random "have-to's" for me to worry about not getting around to blogging. I love this blog, it provides me an outlet to express myself. But when life is the way it has been recently, having the time to express myself on a blog is beyond a luxury. An "affordable" (and more appropriate) luxury is to take sometime to sit down with my husband and tell him how things are going (as I did this morning over eggs and cinnamon rolls, thank you very much!). My new job has taken much more time and energy than I could have imagined. If I wasn't enjoying it so much, I might even be resentful. But this is one of those periods of life where the end result is going to require some sacrifice in the meantime. This is the meantime and this blog is a sacrifice [one of several]. I hope that there will be moments where I can check it, but realistically speaking, I know that there may not be too many moments that can be stolen for blogging luxury. In the meantime, I hope you are doing well this fall. The bite in the air is refreshing for me, I hope that fall leads into a winter with lots of snow (I could use the unplanned slowness of a snowday right about now!)

Cheers!

~Dara

Fall Day at the Fair

This summer, we didn't make it to either of the two small local fairs near where we live. So when some free tickets for a larger fair in Puyallup came into my hands (because I'm an educator!), the husband and I decided to take the s-son this past Saturday. We've been going higher than full-speed lately, so it was nice to get away and have a day of fun. It was also nice to be able to take a couple of hours in the morning before we left to get some chores done around the house...but that's another story. The fair was fun, though much more commercialized than the fair's that we've gone to in the last few years. It's been a while since I watched one of those live "infomercials" for shammy's or the latest and greatest set of knives. It was also fun as always to check out the hobby halls...and even though I didn't partake of any of the rides, I had a good time taking pictures while I waited for the boys to make the rounds in the carnival area. It is back to the hectic pace now, up before the crack of dawn and going busy until bedtime. But, tonight has been slower because I have been able to get more caught up in my classroom lately and it is a slow night for my online job. I can feel life slowly starting to get into a normal routine, as a matter of fact, I'm counting on it! I'm incredibly happy in my new job, so the exhaustion has been worth it.